7 Albums: Rocking 2014

So this is my first article in a very long time, a lot has happened since 20 January 2013 (Wow that's also almost 2 years, that just shows how incredibly fast time flies) lots of films have been watched, many games have been played, and thousands of songs have been listened to, which is what I want to turn my attention to for this (comeback) article.

I was sat in my office the other day wondering what albums had truly hit me sideways. So I decided later that evening, at home, that I would look through my Itunes that night and see what albums had stood out, to be honest, there wasn't a great amount (hence the title is sat at 7 and not at 10 or 15), I have been listening to a lot of remixed tracks and a lot of different genre's, ranging from Chillstep (which is becoming one of my favourite genres) to Hardcore Rock to Classical Music and Opera, Individual tracks, rather than albums, so some may think that this article is unfair as I haven't listened to many albums this year, but I wanted to share with the people that do look at this blog, what music I did enjoy this year.

So here it is in no particular order, my rocking 2014 album selection:

Royal Blood - Royal Blood (Released 25th August 2014)

“YOU MADE A FOOL OUT OF ME, AND TOOK THE SKIN OFF MY BACK RUNNING”

Favourite Track of Album: Out of the Black

This duo (that sound like a quartet) hail from Brighton and have been around since 2013, they put the meteoric in meteoric rise, what they have accomplished in a year some bands struggle to produce in 20 years, it is simply put, incredible how they have managed to achieve such status in such a short space of time. After hearing a few of their early tracks on the E.P they released before this, I was extremely excited by them, as soon as you hear them play, you can feel your pulse elevate and want to jump around like a looney (maybe it’s just me). Critics are stating they are the bringing back the British Rock ‘n’ Roll scene, which after listening to this album, is something I believe in. It is nothing short of brilliant, brilliantly produced, brilliantly sung and brilliantly recorded. The best thing about Royal Blood is that they have mastered the art of sticking to simplistics, simple rhythms, simple riffs and simple choruses, for me it works excellently and it’s a real testament to Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher’s talent. If you just want to rock out and not have a care in the world, this is the album for you.

 Royal Blood - Out of the Black

Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (Released 21st October 2014)

“THIS SONG, IS NOT FOR THE LIVING, THIS SONG IS FOR THE DEAD”

Favourite Track of Album: The Devil In I

After Paul Gray’s tragic death, Slipknot’s freight-train came to an almighty stop and everyone including themselves were left questioning if the band could get past this tragedy. If they were going to continue without Gray’s creative genius, they were going to have to turn a new page in their already stellar career. I can confirm that this album is something different, something very dark, I have been very fortunate in my short time on this planet not to have lost anyone truly close to me, I can’t begin to imagine the pain that has been left behind in his “brothers” hearts, and this album goes someway to showing how they feel. There is a raw emotion throughout this album that is like no other album I have had the pleasure of listening to, you can truly feel their pain, through the lyrics and the instruments used. I must say that this is the most accessible and listenable Slipknot album since they released their very first album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. Corey Taylor’s voice is as gravelly and brutal as ever, but the massive roars and rally cries that come out of his mouth are as every bit integral to the feeling of this album as the instruments are. I would say to any hard rock fan that this is an absolute, must buy and is without doubt, one of my favourite albums of all time. Here is to many more years at the top for Slipknot and the Maggots!

 Slipknot - The Devil In I

The Madden Brothers - Greetings from California (Released 16th September 2014)

“I WANT YOU TO SEE, THAT I NEED TO BE FREE”

Favourite Track of Album: We Are Done

Most people will think that this is a new band, with a great fresh sound, and you would be correct with this assumption….partly. The Madden Brothers are in actual fact a founding part of a relatively largely followed group called Good Charlotte *queue the massive ooooohs and ahhhhhs* Indeed the 2 brothers who hail from Los Angeles have decided to go with a different sound than Good Charlotte, and they have done so extremely well, the reason I started to listening to this album was because I listened to We Are Done on FIFA 15, so I thought I would listen to the rest of the album to see what it was like, (little did I know that the Madden Brothers were in actual fact THEE Madden Brothers and had come under a new alias, Good Charlotte were one of my favourite bands growing up). There is a really fresh Pop Rock sound to this album, and it flows really well from the start with Dear Jane to the finish with Empty Spirits, unusually the brothers decided to use a 2 Disc set up rather than sticking all the songs on 1 CD, which I still have no Idea why they did, but it’s a somewhat unique feature. I really liked this album because it felt like the band that I loved in my younger years just with a significantly different sound. I wouldn’t say it was a must buy, but a definite YouTube search would suffice so you could see what you think. I personally enjoyed this new venture for the brothers and will certainly look forward to future releases with them.

The Madden Brothers - We Are Done

Linkin Park - The Hunting Party (Released 17th June 2014)

"TELL ME WHAT'S WORTH FIGHTING FOR, WHEN WE KNOW THERE'S NOTHING MORE"

Favourite Track of Album: All For Nothing

Anyone who knows me personally, or anyone that has read any of my articles, will know that Linkin Park are one of favourite bands, I have every one of their CD’s and this one was pre-ordered the day it was announced. I have to be honest this entry maybe slightly bias as this isn't one of Linkin Park’s strongest album’s. Hunting Party definitely goes back to Linkin Park’s roots of heavy riffs and brings in some new features like the Guitar solos which are cleverly crafted to help bridge some songs and end some others. It is a good entry into their discography without doubt. Allowing other famous faces into this album was also a very clever move that looks to of paid off, Page Hamilton, Damon Malakian, Tom Morello and old school Rap master Rakim all play their part in this album. If you are a Linkin Park enthusiast like me then this is an absolute must buy regardless of the fact that it isn’t their strongest album, but if you’re a newcomer to the scene then I would definitely start at the beginning of Linkin Park’s discography with Hybrid Theory, a strong entry and definitely one of the highlight’s of 2014 for music.

Linkin Park - All for Nothing

 Switchfoot - Fading West (Released 14th January 2014)

“LOVE ALONE IS THE WORTH THE FIGHT”

Favourite Track of Album: BA55

 Like Linkin Park, Switchfoot are one of my favourite bands, they are one of the few bands that when I listen to them, regardless of my mood, they bring out the happiness inside of me, and that is something I truly admire about them. The thing with Switchfoot is that they an absolutely amazing band, but whether through their own choice or just the fact they are based in a different continent they are not very well publicised which I find extremely hard to understand, if they were given the right stage they would be one of the biggest bands in the world. Anyway, about the album, it is the usual Switchfoot, that beachy feel and massive sense of warmth within their songs, they are an extremely experienced band and this record shows, it has a traditional sound of Switchfoot with a twist and a softer tone. For people that haven’t had the opportunity to listen to this band, please, I urge you to go and listen to their music; it is nothing short of stunning. I cannot recommend them enough and this entry into their discography is an excellent one at that, an absolute must buy for any surfer that enjoys their rock.

Switchfoot - BA55

Of Mice and Men - Restoring Force (Released 28th January 2014)

“I CAN’T, STOP OR SLOW DOWN, I NEVER HAVE, AND NEVER WILL”

Favourite Track of Album: Break Free

I bought tickets to Linkin Park for November 2014, and Of Mice & Men were supporting them, so I thought I would research the group as I had heard their name just not any of their music, I youtube’d one song, and it actually scared me how heavy they were (said the slipknot fanboy) it completely turned me off musically and I was dreading there performance before Linkin Park. When they started at the O2, their first song, was just a barrage of noise with an awesome drop, the bass just smashed straight into my heart, and since that moment, my opinion of them completely changed, although some of their earlier staff is extremely heavier they have matured as a group in this latest addition. Restoring Force is exactly that, a Tour De’ Force of musical brutality, it is excellent; it really gets the blood pumping and is definitely something to be marvelled at by metalcore enthusiasts. Parts of it aren’t as heavy (Break Free) than others (Public Service Announcement which was the first song they played at the O2) but it is an extremely well balanced record and they are a band I will definitely be keeping an eye on for future releases.

Of Mice & Men - Break Free

Yellowcard - Lift a Sail (Released 7th October 2014)

“WE CAN LIVE LIKE WE ARE FOREVER”

Favourite Track of Album: One Bedroom

Yellowcard are the final piece to the trio of bands that I consider my favourite bands, they have been around since 1997 with their first album being Midget Tossing (odd name right?) and have excelled ever since, the Californian band are now extremely experienced and know exactly what their fans want. For me Yellowcard have always been able to effortlessly go from one album to another, creating a new feel to their music while keeping what makes them awesome in the new album. This album in parts can be a complete disconnection from previous albums of Yellowcard; however this isn't a bad thing as it shows their diversity and their willingness to create something new and fresh. This is one of my favourite albums of Yellowcard, along with Ocean Avenue and Southern Air and I would urge any newbies to the genre to go and get this, its slow in parts and has some wicked guitar solo’s in others (One Bedroom). I have seen this band live once and am going to see them again in February 2015, which I am really looking forward to because they are born performers. On a side note, I and my fiancée have also chosen One Bedroom as our first dance at our wedding, its something different, and is everything we want to say to each other, so we are both super excited about that moment. GO OUT AND BUY THIS ALBUM!

Yellowcard - One Bedroom

So there you have it my best albums of 2014, like it, Share it, Comment on it. Let me know what you think. I must say it feels good to write an article again.

Josh BRCB